Tri-Umph! Riders

Tommy's B'day Makan

2009-02-18T17:15:00.024+08:00

B decided to spring a surprise on b'day boy Y aka Tommy and assembled the rest of Team TriUmph for a b'day makan gathering on Tues 17 Feb.

W recommended this place for our gastronomical feast:

Venue: Ikoi Japanese Restaurant, Hotel Miramar
Address: 401 Havelock Road #01-01
Tel: 6887-3788
Time: 7pm
Menu: a la carte Japanese buffet, $35+ per pax

Who turned up:
Y (b'day boy)
B
D
Di
Ed
E
JH
W
YS
S

Y's b'day pressie:
Queen size quilt comforter

What we ate:

Appetizer
Green beans (Edamame)
Mixed veg salad (carrot/ Jap cucumber sticks on shaved ice, served with miso paste dip) (complimentary)
Salmon sashimi in vinegar sauce (complimentary)

Main course
Mixed fresh sashimi (tuna, salmon, yellowfin, swordfish)

Grilled chicken wings
Fried tofu (bite-sized)
Teapot soup with seafood base, flavoured with lime and served in mini teacups (complimentary)
Miso hotpot soup (salmon, tofu, and mushrooms) cooked in aluminium bowl over a candle burner (complimentary)

Salmon fish head (complimentary) (tender & yummy! my fav :) )
California Handroll

Salmon Skin Handroll
Tuna salad
Tofu Salad
Sushi
Yakitori (chicken meat on sticks, satay style)

Mixed tempura (prawn, cuttlefish, shitake mushroom)

Chawanmushi (steamed custard egg)
Shishamo aka pregnant fish (small slender grilled fish served on a bed of salt) (supposed to eat up the entire fish, even the bones and head!)

Tofu with cheese filling
Miso soup

Desert
Coco Exotic choc/ hazelnut b'day cake from "Four Leaves Bakery"

P/S: There were lots of other items on the menu we didn't have enough room in our tummies to try: udon, katsu, ramen, beef curry rice, fried rice, porriage, cold soba, other grilled items, deserts etc.

Mersing Drive-up Cycling Trip, 6-8 Feb '09

2009-02-11T12:42:00.046+08:00

The quartet of adventurers:
B (trip organiser/ logistics officer/ CFO/ bike repair specialist/ first aider *touch wood*)
JH
YS and
S
decided to take a training-cum-holiday trip up to the sleepy east-coast fishing port of Mersing, 130km north of Johor Bahru.

We headed up in 2 cars - JH's "mini-me" car (B's ex-car) and YS's spacious MPV, started out at close to 9pm from B's place on Fri 6 Feb.

Nearing Woodlands, Mr usually-super-organised-B suddenly remembered that he'd left out 2 vital pieces of gear - cycling jersey and tights! Heading back to retrieve them, YS and S proceeded on and waited at the Woodlands MacD carpark. A short delay later, we set off together at 10pm towards the customs.

Breezing through Spore's customs, YS and myself were bemused (think YS was more exasperated :p) at having to navigate the windy road that leads to the new mammoth-sized Msia customs building. [YS felt like an F1 driver on the return journey home haha]

Light traffic on JB roads meant a smooth journey pretty much all the way to our destination (we were simply waved through a couple of Msia police road blocks), making a quick pee stop at a petrol station along the way.

We were pretty tickled and befuddled by the huge reflector arrows which came in S, M, L and XL sizes haphazardly arranged along the Msia roads, giving a surreal cartoony effect in the otherwise pitch-black darkness.

After about a total of 3hrs+ of driving, we finally arrived past midnight at Hotel Havanita (HH). A quick check-in and 5 min later we were at the nearby Malay coffeeshop for supper. B and YS had mee goreng while JH and S ate spicy instant noodle soup. JH had 2 bowls! [We wanted to have the healthier ban mian but the shop was closed by the time we got there :( ] Way past our usual bed times by then, we groggily returned to HH for much needed shut-eye.

Next morning, we started the day lazily with a late 10am+ brunch feast of won ton mee, fishball noodle soup, char siew and roast chicken, rounded off with a plate of yummy cholesterol-clogging char kway tiao with the usual milo kosong and kopi-o.

With tummies satiated, B and JH made a bee-line to the Mersing "salon" for their value-for-money RM$7 haircut, while YS and S returned to HH for some RandR. [B and JH later came back laden with bulging plastic bags filled with vege and more vege (a bunch of kangkong costs only RM$0.30), half a dozen bottles of 1.5l mineral water and tidbits]

The plan for day 2:
12pm Cycle Mersing - Kluang - Taman Negara - Jetty - Jamaluang - Mersing loop (Total Dist: 93km)
5pm optional run along the Mersing beach
6pm seafood dinner
8pm shopping for groceries

JH was feeling under the weather and decided to stay in while B, YS and S started their ride towards Kluang at 12pm.

The initial 40km out from Mersing was along narrow, winding roads, pretty flat at first, then gently undulating after.

B, still recovering from a viral infection, took it real easy, cycling at a fat-burning, less than 100W pace, with S happily drafting behind, thankful for this sedate, relaxed pace hehe...

YS, in urgent need of IML training, shot ahead trying to clock mileage at aerobic pace.

Coming to a T-junction, B led the way down a little pot-holed path to the jetty which was a popular fishing spot among the locals.

The next 53km towards Mersing was undulating with long gentle upslopes and downslopes.

S reached a max of 47km on compact crank while coasting down one of the slopes. B upped his pace after the T-junction with YS following close and S lagging behind. We had the roads pretty much to ourselves, with few cars in sight at this point, and enjoyed the ride alongside lush greenary amidst the fresh countryside air.

We were amused by the sight of "Elephant Awas!" signs along the way and S kept hoping to see a real life one but all they saw were the elephants' (or was it cows'?) poo :(

We cycled for about 70km before taking a photo break by a lake with incredibly clear water which looked fantastic for taking a dip in.

It was an idyllic setting for a pinic if only the weather wasn't so humid. S was looking forward to a coffeshop at this point (we had cycled for about 70km without any water top-ups by then) and that was our next destination a few km away, except that we re-fueled at a provision shop instead with freshly-cut slices of juicy pineapples, 100plus and water, since the only coffeshop in the vicinity looked pretty dingy and grimy *yucks*

The last 20km was the usual rolling terrain along Jamaluang towards Mersing. Traffic along this stretch is usually busy but Msia drivers tend to give cyclists a wide berth, with some drivers/ motorcyclists giving a friendly/ warning toot on the horns or a wave as they sped past.

YS took the lead and soon left S and B trailing behind, who were snail-ing along at an average of 22km+/h :p

This last stretch towards Mersing is always a challenge, given our weary legs and flagging spirits. S and B cheered up when they finally saw the "Selamat Datang ke Mersing" signboard and rolled into HH, some 10-15min after YS.

A quick change of shoes and YS and S drove to the road beside Mersing beach for a short jog to simulate a bike-run brick.

Meanwhile, B was busy cooking kangkong in the room with his portable mini-cooker! 20min later, B and JH came looking for us and apparently got their car stuck in a sandy spot. JH had his 1st exercise of the day when he had to get out to push the car haha...

The seaside evening breeze was superb and S felt energised despite the fatigue from the 90k of cycling. S ran for 30min while YS did a slightly longer 45min run.

After taking some seaside photos, we headed to our fav Mersing zi char place for dinner. Ravenous after several hours of exercise, we ordered several dishes to go with our rice - stir-fried spicy kangkong, stir-fried dark green vege, hotplate tofu with egg, stir-fried wild boar meat and a big serving of really fresh steamed fish.

B was extremely zealous in extolling the anti-oxidative benefits of garlic so we all had a generous heaping of the pungent clove - S reckons she ate enough to ward off an entire army of vampires! We had warm barley and cola (YS and S) to accompany our meal. Everything tasted fresh and delicious and we soon devoured everything on our plates :)

Grocery shopping spree by the guys was next on the agenda. The trio came back with enough supplies to last for a week! The usual staples of Vitagen, fruits (starfruit, grapes, banana), Rhino cooling water, together with snacks like Kellogg's Coco Pops (B), Milo wafer snack pack (YS), Oreo biscuits (JH), canned drinks (soya bean, green tea) etc. Shagged out, we turned in at about 10.30pm+ after watching a B-grade detective movie on TV.

The next morning, JH, YS and S headed down for the hotel's buffet breakfast. The spread was limited and didn't look very appetising - nasi lemak, baked beans, bread and jam, cornflakes, chicken saussage, omelette, OJ, tea/ coffee. JH later keng-ed the ride (again!) and drove out for b'fast #2 won ton mee! B slept like a log until almost 9am, foregoing b'fast for more beauty sleep.

The plan for day 3:
9.30am Cycle Mersing - Pantai Penyabong (flat with headwinds) - Endau - (30km rolling) - Mersing (Total Dist: 87km)
12.30pm Lunch at Endau kopitiam
2.30pm Reach Hotel Havanita, Bathe, Change, Check out
4pm Load up bikes and head for early dinner
5pm Drive back to Singapore
*Estimated to reach home 8-10pm, depending on traffic and causeway jam.

Leisurely and easy are the words to describe today's scenic ride, as we ambled along towards Pantai Penyabong. Instead of cycling straight towards Rompin, we took a right turn a few km away from HH and found ourselves in the nature reserve area with majestive trees lining both sides of the roads. It made me think of Jurassic Park with the giant forest looming ahead :)

The thick forest foliage provided a shield from the sun's heatwaves and we enjoyed the cooling breeze as we rode against the slight headwinds towards another part of Mersing's coastline.

The picture-postcard scenary and vast open fields with the smell of fresh countryside air were a rare treat for urban dwellers like us.

Continuing ahead, S was surprised to see sheep being reared in the tropics and roaming about freely.

B says these are being kept for meat, hence the unkempt appearance of the dirty, stringy fleece. We saw goats, cows, monkeys and even bulls too.

We stopped by a local food stall for some "white" peppery otah which was a bit spicy but quite tasty.

B and S had eaten this before on the 2007 Kota Bahru cycling trip in Cherating. Each stick cost RM$1 and consisted of 3 banana-leaf wrapped triangular pieces a la otah kebab. We bought 3 sticks but were charged RM$5 cos the vendor disappeared without giving us back the change grrr...

Next we cycled right through a herd of cow

and even caught one couple in flagranti delicto *blush*

At Pantai Penyabong, we came to this wooden jetty which had seen better days and took some photos while gingerly walking (taking care not to step on any rotten/ loose wooden planks) the length of it. It reminded S of Busselton's 2km long jetty haha...

Opposite the jetty was this isolated island with thick, green, lush vegetation. We speculated whether it was for sale and what the going price would be!

After the short break, we continued to Endau along mainly flat terrain, mostly againt a slight headwind. Feeling pretty hungry at this point, we decided on bak kut teh for lunch, together with stir-fried local vege and rice.

The RM$20 bak kut teh was excellent, with the potent herbly soup and double boiled tender meat. We drank the soup by the spoonfuls and made short work of the two dishes.

Before the after-lunch stupor paralysed us, we started on our journey back to Mersing, via the rolling terrains of Rompin. Again YS was in front, attempting to maintain a steady moderate pace while B and S competed to see who could cycle slower haha...(S won of cos! :D)

Going at an easy pace on the rolling slopes meant having to make numerous gear changes but it also prevented lactic acid from building up in our legs and fatigue from setting in.

Nearing Mersing town, we were suddenly engulfed in thick greyish smoke from a bush fire at a traffic junction and had to peddle faster to escape being smothered by the poisonous fumes. The recent drought had brought on this and a couple of other bush fires that we'd seen along the way.

Soon after, we arrived at HH to see YS eating a delicious looking choc-stick ice cream bought from the Caltex petrol station next to HH. B went to get ice cold mineral water for us from the hotel concierge, little realising that HH would charge us RM$6 per bottle - daylight robbery! and veteran travellers that we were, ended up as the vegetable heads aka cai tao!

B rinsed down his sweat-stained bike using the hose conveniently located at the HH carpark, while YS and S decided to forego showering their bikes as they had to be stored in YS's car for the journey home.

A quick shower, a change of fresh clothes and everyone was set to make the return journey back down south across the border. But first, a quick detour to the Mersing KFC was mandatory :p

Here's a final momento of this enjoyable makansutra-cum-workout holiday :)

Ironman WA Swim Training Program

2008-09-14T22:48:00.002+08:00

Hi folks,

10 weeks to go, here is the program for next 6 weeks

Week 1
200 WU
4x 500 (75%)
100 WD
4x 300 (90%)
200WD

TD: 3.9km

Week 2
200WU
3x 700(75%)
100WD
3x500(85%)
200WD
TD:4.1km

Week 3
200WU
2x 1200(75%)
100WD
2x800(85%)
200WD
TD:4.5km

Week 4
200WU
1x4000(85%)
200WD
TD:4.4km

Week 5
200WU
2x1500(75%)
100WD
2x500(85%)
200WD
TD:4.5km

Week 6
200WU
2x1200km(75%)
100WD
2x500(90%)
200WD
TD:3.9km

Week7 onwards speedwork

Potluck Makan/ Laos/Mersing Photo Viewing/ Team TriUmph Jersey Launch

2008-07-22T19:54:00.022+08:00

Date: 1 Aug 2008 Friday
Venue: Yuen's house @Tiong Bahru Central
Time: 7pm
Food: Potluck
RSVP: Please email Bernard if you can make it and also what food you will be bringing
Attractions: Viewing the photos from our previous trips in Laos and Malaysia & Launch of Team TriUmph! Jersey & tour of Yuen's retro bachelor pad

Who's coming:
1) Yuen -
2) Bernard - salad
3) Eric - sandwiches
4) Yong Seng & wife - sushi
5) Weileng -
6) Diana - fried rice
7) Victoria -
8) Andrew - ice cream
9) Will - fries & nuggets
10) Bernard Ow -
11) Joo Huat - pizza

Team TriUmph Swim Program (3rd Mesocycle)

2008-05-23T12:44:00.002+08:00

The second meso was a focused on speed and endurance.

Now the third meso will be focusing on Endurance and Tri Specific Skills

Wk 11
3.8k Time Trial

Wk 12
200WU
300 x 3 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200 x 1 (tempo)
200WD
TD 3100

Wk 13
200WU
300 x 3 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 3800

Wk 14
200WU
300 x 4 (w Sighting)
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 4100

Wk 15
200WU
Pyramid (100/200/300/400/500/600/500/400/300/200/100Tempo)
200WD
TD 4000

Wk 16
3.8k Time Trial

Bernard has completed Tour of Egat! :-)

2008-05-08T08:43:00.002+08:00

Congratulations!! Bernard is a Tour of Egat finisher!!

Cover page photo, Day 2, Stage 3

For other Egat pics: http://www.thaimtb.com/cgi-bin/viewkatoo.pl?id=233310&st=31

Here's an update on the 5 Stages:

Day 1 (4 May)
Stage 1 (123km), flat with last 1km of steep slope. Avg speed: 40+kph (!)
Stage 2 (8km TT) 13min+ with strong head/ cross winds

Day 2 (5 May)
Stage 3 (81km), killer swirling and gusty winds, almost got blown off (!), last 30km super steep uphill climb (worse than Cameron Highlands), humid and hot! Avg speed: 30kph

Day 3 (6 May)
Stage 4 (150km), super tough King of the Mountain stage, rolling hills with 1250m of steep climbs, some 10km of 15% gradient hills (!), sweltering temps of max 44degC (!!), had a small crash, one tire cut, one tire punctured (!!!), last 30km had hypoglycemia, legs and hands shaking, light-headed, almost cannot complete but he made it! Avg speed: 32kph on rolling mountains, 50-52kph on flats, 80+kph on descents, max 82.5kph (!!!!)

Day 4 (7 May) (Last stage)
Stage 5, (115km), another on-going battle against strong headwinds and max 40degC temps... phew! Avg speed: 41.1kph (!)
He's done it!
Bernard has officially completed the Tour of Egat!! :-D

Team TriUmph Swim Program (2nd Mesocycle)

2008-04-05T16:36:00.003+08:00

For those who have been faithfully following the Team TriUmph Swim Program both locally and overseas, we are currently at week 4 and will be entering into the 2nd Mesocycle (2nd phase) of the swim program.
Every mesocycle will feature different formats of intervals but within each mesocycle, the intervals will see a great degree of similarity and progression.

Wk 6.
200 WU
3800m (Time Trial)
100 WD
Td = 4100m

Wk 7
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 2 ( 70%)
200 WD
Td = 2700m

Wk 8
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 3 ( 70%, 70%, Tempo)
200 WD
Td = 3000m

Wk 9
200 WU
500 x 3 (70%)
200 x 1 (Tempo)
300 x 4 ( 70%, 80%,70%, 80% )
200 WD
Td = 3300m

Wk 10 (Death Session)
200 WU
500 x 3
200 x 2 (Tempo)
100 Wd
300 x 4 ( 70%, 80%,70%, 80% )
200 WD
Td = 3600m

Have a good day folks!

Glycogen Supercompensation (Carbo-Loading)

2008-04-03T13:28:00.002+08:00

For athletes participating in aerobic activities lasting at least 90mins, carbo loading can play a crucial part in increasing and improving performance.

It can increase stored glycogen in muscles to about 3 to 4 times normal levels.

The full carbo loading process is listed below

Duration: 13 days
1st-7th day - (Hard exercise daily to deplete carbo stores to get body used to depleting and using carbo stores, but eat normally)
8th -10h day - ( Cut Carbs 50% each meal for first 3 days, continue to maintain light and short workouts, the 3rd day should see you eating less then 5% of your original carbo quantity. drop in level of carbs can be made up by high fat and high protein diet to keep full)
11-13th day - (Increase carb intake back to original levels i.e. 7th day, during the 3 days, eat almost exclusively carbohydrates i.e. lower fat intake and reduce protein intake to almost zero, eat as much carbs as you can ingest 3-5 times a day)
14th Day - (Race day)

How to know you've done it right?
1. You feel stiff and heavy (it can be due to water retention because every 1 gram of glycogen stored in muscle there will be 2.7gram of water stored too)
2. You've gain 2-3kgs (all comes from additional glycogen and water stores)

With all this said, bear in mind, that carbo-loading may leave you psychologically weaker and it takes its toll on your immune system. Hence, one must be ultimately careful to look out for any tell-tale warning signs during the process

Off-road in Ubin, Sat 29 Mar 08

2008-03-30T14:24:00.004+08:00

Taking a break from Desaru, B, E & me headed to Ubin for a leisure off-road ride.
A good chance to test out my new Scott Contessa 30 & bike handling ability *gulp*

E & S walking to bum boat

Highlights of the ride:

Just before we hit the trails, a dog sprinted past B and me and chased furiously after E for a good 20m before it (luckily) ran out of steam *phew*

Explored a couple of bike trails eg Pumpkin trail, Outward Bound trails, German girl shrine trail and trail leading to Chek Jawa.

I had BIG trouble getting upslope cos not used to the gear levers on MTB and often got mixed-up trying to change from big to small chainring and vice versa & gear shifting for the front derailer wasn't smooth urgh...

E having fun while S dismounts to push bike DOWNSLOPE :-P

Ravenous after the 2h rollercoaster bumper ride, we made a pit-stop at the jetty Chinese restaurant with plastic bags of water hanging from the steel structure (try and guess what these are for next time you go there :-P) for brunch. Having whipped up a hearty apetite, we ordered hor fun, fried rice, fried noodle, hor fun noodle and coconut drinks.

Along the way to Chek Jawa (cobra hideout area) we spotted the upper and lower jaw skull of a wild boar with teeth and one razor sharp fang still intact.

Mine is bigger than yours!

Nice specimen for my collection :-D

E & B tried biking on Chek Jawa.

B almost became a permanent beach fixture when he got sucked in by the quick-sand-lookalike mud and E had to go to his rescue (err, he rescued B's bike instead haha) Plastered with mud up to his ankles, B's DS trainers got a brand new make-over :-P
(too bad no pics!)

On the way back, we met 2 rotund 'oldies' (Patrick & friend) at the drinks stall next to the bumboat jetty, who recommended kayaking as an alternative to cycling in Ubin. They'd brought their own 8k kayak over from Spore on the bumboat that morning and had it moored at Ubin. They volunteered to show us the back lanes of Rengit in Desaru too on MTB.

Notes:
1. 1st bumboat to Ubin leaves at 8am from Changi Point Ferry Terminal (next to Changi Village hawker ctr).
2. Bumboat ticket for 1 peron + bike: $4 (one-way)
3. Bumboat ride to Ubin: about 20min
4. Spray yourselves with insect repellent prior to ride and wear arm warmers to ward off spider webs, pesky flies, and other insects
5. Remember to put and reapply sunblock

Running Drills

2008-03-24T10:10:00.002+08:00

Here are some running drills I thought will be beneficial to all

Butt Kick(Bringing heels to butt, fast for 10-20m)
Knee Picking (High knee lifts)
Downhill Running (gentle slope)
Shuffling (Stationary and Moving)(Fast stepping)
Arm Swing
"A" March(Like China soldier)
Straight Leg Bounding

Do share if you have anymore!

Are you burning Fat or Carbs

2008-03-19T15:51:00.003+08:00

Based on a reserch done for a treadmill run lab recently (Subject being me), the results below show much of my fuel at my hr is from Fat and Carbs at different hr.

HR------------FAT%------Carbs%
68% hr -------90-----------10
70%hr--------70.3---------29.7
73.5%hr------55.8---------44.2
76.5%hr------60-----------40
90%hr--------30----------70

So if you want to burn fat, you know what to do...

Adaptations

2008-03-19T15:23:00.002+08:00

Adaptations

For many of us, we train to get leaner,meaner, and faster.

But do we know what we are training for? If you've read the title you'll be pretty sure that the objective of training is for the purpose of having certain adaptations which will enhance our performance

Adapatations occur in 4 different areas

Central
Periphery
Biochemical
Metabolic

Central

Involves the Heart and Cardio Vascular system
Improving central adaptations involve increasing stroke volume through
Left Ventricular Hyperthrophy
Greater Elasticity of Cardiac Muscles
More left Ventricular filling time

Periphery

Involves the cellular and periphery regions(off course...)
Increase in cell size
Increasing Cell mitochrondria (powerhouse of cell)
increasing Mayoglobin(transport o2 from cell membrane to mitochrondria) and haemoglobin(in blood, transport o2)

Biochemical

Increasing glycogen storage
Increasing enzymes for all energy systems (ATP-CP, Anaerobic, Aerobic)
Increased ability for oxidation of fat rather then carbs

Metabolic

Increased lactate buffering capability (ability to synthesise lactate)
Decreased rate of lactate production
Increased lactate treshold
later lactate inflection point (as mentioned a few articals before)

Team TriUmph Swim Program

2008-03-18T10:01:00.002+08:00

For those who would like to know the Swimming Training Program for the next five weeks(Base and Volume Phase), I have planned it out. For Convenience next week will be week 1.
(swim session is at 3pm Kallang Basin Swimming Complex)

WU=warm up
WD=warm down
Td =Total distance

Wk 1.
200 WU
2x700m
100WD
2x300m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 2800m

Wk 2.
200 WU
2x800m
100WD
3 x200m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 3000m

Wk 3.
200 WU
2x900m
100WD
3x300m (70%)
200WD
Td= 3200m

Wk 4.
200 WU
2x1000m
100WD
2x300m (70%)
100WD
2x100m (Tempo)
200WD
Td= 3400m

Wk 5.
200 WU
2x1100m
100WD
4x200
1x100
200WD
Td= 3600m

Mersing Ride, Mar 08

2008-03-10T17:24:00.003+08:00

Mersing ride has always been an attraction for me. It brings back the old memories where at the spur of the moment, we decided to go there. The first gang was Johny, Choon Wei, Bernard and me. Sometime later, Yuen did the ride too. It has not always been successful, some team member could be sick, or bonk or come to his senses halfway during the ride (and decide to quit). Later, when we had the support vehicle, David, Yong Seng, Jax, Wesley came on board. Now the faithful gang: Bernard, Sharon and me. (I am sure David would have come, but he foolishly decided that his work is more important).

So with trepidation I approach this ride. I miss the Cameron's ride, and this is my first long ride for the year. Its kind of scary doing long rides like this without the proper base. I have stopped riding for a while due to not being able to wake up early enough. I am in a process of Dismantling. Its a new concept, it means getting fat, losing all your fitness and getting really lazy for a while, post IM. I have been battling imsomnia, and other health ailments. So I thought I get my health right first, before attempting to be fit. So far, it has not work. I gotten more ill, and less fit.

Experience tells me that after the 1st day, the legs will be shot, and the return journey will be tough. So for this ride, I am going to fuel continuosly, and with proper food, and keep the heart rate down, and to feel OK on Monday reporting to work. This means no pressing. Also, I am not going to down any gels or salt tablet for this ride, and see whether natural food is good enough. (The truth is natural food is always good enough. Natural food doesn't mean that the label says "Natural". My definition of natural means something that grow on trees, and not born in the factory).

To be continued.....

To be continued..

Energy Systems (2)

2008-03-10T15:42:00.002+08:00

Now that we are aware of the different energy systems in our body.

The next thing to know would be, how to train them? I will give my perspective of training from my own training philosophy.

ATP-PC system

ATP PC or some call ATP CP system, provides the body with energy for short bursts (2-10seconds) of activity
Though not as critical for triathletes, it still remains a component that needs to be trained
Swimming - Short sprints (10x 15m) Recovery 30sec to 1 min
Cycling - Short Sprints (10/20 x 20pedal revolutions at maximal intensity)
Running- Short Sprints (10/20 x 20/30m) with high leg lifts and toe off movement
One must be careful to watch the length of time at maximal intensity if not the issue of blood lactate would be there

Anaerobic System

Provides energy 10seconds to 5mins(well trained athletes)
Any maximal activity lasting up to 5mins with 30sec to 2 min duration each interval will improve anaerobic capacity
it is best for "wacking people" at the final leg of the race, or making an overtaking move on someone during the bike leg

Aerobic System

Provides almost all the energy for any exercise >5mins
Extremely critical in Ultra sports
Depending on the heart rate stated in the previous write up, you can improve on different aspects of your aerobic component
Bear in mind, there is an aerobic system using Carbohydrates and also one using fat, so be extremely cautious when training (watch your heart rate closely)

*I will write more about Aerobic endurance training on my next post, it will cover mainly periodization.

Energy Systems Training(1)

2008-03-08T23:15:00.003+08:00

More often then not, we train when there are "kakis" and as age groupers we have almost complete autonomy over what training we would like to do.
As such, it become absoultely necessary to understand what are we training for.

In this post, I shall write a bit about training for performance.

Basically there are 3 Major energy systems in our body,

ATP-PC (Adinosin Triphosphate- Phosphocreatine i.e. breaking down of Phosphate bonds for energy)
Anaerobic Glycolysis (Breaking down of glycogen to produce ATP)
Aerobic Glycolysis (Breaking down of Fats, Proteins, Carbohydrates with oxygen to produce energy)

ATP-PC

Lasts for 2-10 seconds depending on athlete

Anaerobic Glycolysis

Lasts for up to 2 mins

Aerobic Glycolysis

Lasts "forever"

Basically in good training, we must be able to train all 3 systems but in different intesity. That means that because our sport is predominently Aerobic in nature, a greater degree of training should be in the aerobic zones.

However training aerobically is not all that simple, to do so requires careful attention spent on watching our heart rate (not the best method but the most convenient). The below is a heavily simplified version of what systems we are training at different heart rates.

At 55-65%hr we are training our aerobic Fat metabolism
at 66-75%hr we are training our Aerobic Glycolytic metabolism (no lactate produced)
at 75%-90% hr we are training our Anaerobic glycolytic metabolism (lactate produced)

*I will write more about lactate soon :)

Hopefully with this knowledge we can better decide on what is are we training for

Mersing Ride, 1-2 Mar 08

2008-03-08T19:33:00.009+08:00

100% success! woohoo! :-D

Three riders attempted and successfully completed a 2 day unsupported Mersing ride (1-2 Mar):
Bernard
Eric
Sharon

Despite the bad weather forecast of thunderstorms in Desaru & Mersing, the intrepid trio headed to Desaru by the usual 7.15am ferry on Sat 1 Mar. At Changi Ferry Terminal, to B's dismay, he realised that he'd left his water bottles and museli bars back home! :-( Thankfully, he'd remembered to bring along his new digital u/w camera, so by the end of the trip, we had a photo-journal to commemorate our ride. E was also not in good health, inflicted with a sniffling cold and a persistent dry cough :-(

On the ferry, we met up with a familiar acquaintance, Pascal (from Mauritius) and his friend, who were planning to do a shorter Desaru loop ride, heading back on the 3pm ferry. Turns out that the friend was in YF's Mon class haha!

Check-in at the Spore customs side was unusually lengthy due to the island-wide man hunt for escaped JI terrarist, Mas Selamat Kastari. This caused a delayed start to our ride out from Belungkor at 8.45am.

Contrary to Desaru's infamously hot and scorching sun, we experienced pleasantly cool cloudy weather right from the start :-) Taking it real easy (newbie pace haha), in a remarkably short time considering our slow speed, we reached Bandar Penawar, our 1st top-up point in about 1h10min.

A 20min break for drinks, food (1 Carman museli bar for me, a couple of coconut buns for B) and loo and we continued on towards Sedili Kechil. At close to 10am, it started raining and we were drenched within 5min. B stopped to put on a disposable raincoat and we merrily drafted behind him as the raincoat flapped in the wind and created wind resistance training effect for B hehe...

New cycling attire?

Due to the rain, we were saved from the usual monstrously strong headwinds heading towards Sedili, but drafting behind each other on wet roads meant facing the constant spray from the wheels of the rider infront.

Our next mini stop to rest our legs was at the "beach", our usual photo taking point for new riders to the Desaru-Sedili route :-) I took a gel, while B and E ate up the coconut buns B had bought for b'fast in Bandar P.

Our next destination was E's fav chicken rice stall at Sedili Besar, where E & B had a plate of chicken rice + semi-boiled runny egg, while I had a bun + soya bean + ice milo kosong.

Egg-shell shades heh heh

E, who was feeling poorly couldn't finish his portion and went over to the next door grocery store to buy fresh tomatos to munch on instead. Bananas were apparently in short supply.

Setting off after lunch was brrr...freezing due to our wet jerseys + tights and the super cold wind cycling up the 4 deg bridge! The undulating terrain beyond was familiar and strangely welcoming with the lush greenery on our left and right. We stopped for a quickie photo as the panaromic landscape was irresistable :-)

Double-vision :-P

We quickly passed the usual "landmark" points eg the police post, Edwin+Sharon's stop, Yuen's ice-cream stop and reached the junction to Tg Leman (skipped this of cos!), then headed towards the Y-junction to turn right towards Mersing.

We stopped at a small coffeeshop (next to toy store selling inflatable supermans with wrong blue color cape!) for a short hot milo break along the way to warm our insides. As the coffeeshop's loo was too disgusting to be used, we cycled on for abit and then made a loo break at Johnny's stop, which had proper male/ female toilets.

Thereafter, we had to cycle on the shoulder of the main road with cars, buses and trucks whizzing past at high speeds but generally giving a generous berth to us cyclists. This was the most challenging part of the Desaru-Mersing route as we faced even more undulating roads for the last 50km stretch and were feeling tired and saddle-numbed already from the long day's ride.

We experienced intermittant light drizzles along the way and while the nice cool weather helped to keep us fresh and "hydrated", the wet, cold and clammy feeling increased our discomfort esp our soggy socks and bike shoes :-(

Nearing Mersing, B spotted a shop selling bananas finally! We stopped for E to buy a bunch and we ate a couple as substitutes for energy gels :-P

We slowly made our way onwards and were mighty glad when we finally crossed into Mersing at about 5.10pm, way ahead of our earlier projected time of 6.30pm :-D

E was really suffering by now, having coughed up enough flam throughout the ride to fill a 1.5l bottle I reckon, and his fuel tank was almost empty already, so we decided to have an early dinner at our regular roadside makan place. Our sumptious dinner consisted of stir-fried leafy vege, old cucumber soup, hotplate egg+tofu, stir-fried wild boar and steamed fish for a very affordable RM$60. I gulped down loads of vitamins for "recovery", while B and E drank DIY Vit-C juice + orange gatorade mix instead. E bared his torso while getting changed into B's comfy and more importantly DRY IML tshirt at the makan place :-P

It rained again after dinner but stopped shortly after. We decided to split up - E headed to Timotel hotel to check-in and wash up, while B and I went "shopping" for groceries. At the clothing shop, B ended up bying an ah pek shirt to sleep in, 2 more "mini-me" sized M tees for himself and E and berms for E. Next was groceries, then to the pharmacy to get E's cough medicine + lozenges.

Laden with big and small plastic bags, our 5-grand bikes were temporarily transformed into market bikes as we headed back to Timotel.

High-end market bike hehe

Glad to finally step into the hotel room at 8pm+ and finally got changed out of our damp attire into nice fresh clean clothes. The room soon resembled a laundrette as wet clothes, socks, shoes were strewn all around on any available surface, hopefully to be dried by the next morning. All thoughts of bike cleaning flew out the window after I sank my tired limbs onto the comfy bed (I'd requested for 3 single beds arranged dormitory style in a row, costing RM196). The guys occupied their time by watching this really crappy B-grade Stallone action flick. For supper, B and me had a small Cadbury fruit+nut choc bar each + tuna chunks from the tin (B shared with E). We'd bought apples as well but only E ate 1, claiming he was too tired to wash the rest for us haha! To prep for the next day's ride, I mixed my drinks in advance- 2 bottles of Powerbar Endurance (fruit punch flavour) + 1 bottle of orange Gatorade.

We turned in early for the nite after much discussion about carbon wheelsets (B & E highly recommend Corima wheel, as an alternative to Zipps) (I counter-offered 1.2k for a togoparts seller's offer of 1.4k for Zipp 404 clinchers and the deal fell through... oh well...), hoping to get as much sleep and rest before the next day's long ride.

E snored throughout the nite and even muttered in his sleep *groan* Being light sleepers, E and me could only snatch bits of sleep while B slept soundly in slumberland zzzz...

I woke up at about 7.10am, headed to the loo for a wash-up and got changed into my still damp cycling attire. Popped my morning vitamins to start the day, then woke B up at 7.45am. E was still sleeping so B & I went for b'fast 1st. E joined us shortly after, looking remarkably fresh for a sick man :-p but didn't eat very much as his digestive system still wasn't running too well. B'fast done, the guys changed into cycling gear, we collected our bikes from the hotel's conference room (our usual storage bike space when we stayed at Timotel) and we set off an hour later than our planned time at close to 10am. A 5min stop to fill up B's & E's water bottles and off we went.

30min into the ride, rains came pouring down *groan!* So much for our attempt to dry our clothes the night before! B stopped to put on the disposable raincoat again, this time improving on the "aerodynamics" by poking holes in it to lessen wind resistance haha... Further up, E stopped at the grocery store to buy more bananas while B & I took shelter under a nearby bustop. We groaned in unison when we realised we'd left the bag of apples in our hotel room fridge at Timotel :-(

Thankfully the rains dried up after about 20min and we enjoyed fantastic weather from then on. Clearing the 1st 50km at a real slow and easy chit-chatting pace, we stopped at Johnny's stop for a meal + loo break.

B & E ate a full plate of rice + some vege + meat dishes, while I ate a Nature's Valley Cinnamon bar + ice milo kosong. By then E has consumed more than 10 bananas from the day before and along the ride that morning! He ate another one for dessert after consuming the rice, gave one to B and a slice of pineapple to me.

We continued our ride in amazingly cool weather conditions, similar to that of Camerons :-) B & E rode in front, chatting all the way, while wheel-sucker me happily drafted the two. After about 1.5h, B & E decided to exchange bikes for fun and I continued my slow solo ride ahead.

After about 20min, B & E caught up and lo and behold, B had gotten a puncture on his front wheel! I tried to re-sell to B the spare tube I'd bought from him earlier that morning, at 50% more of the price he sold me but B was having none of that haha! B kept the punctured tube to bring home for closer examination later as we couldn't the location of the puncture. The change took about 20min (I practised how to use a CO2 canister hehe) and we upped the pace after that to make up for time. Fortunately, we were aided by strong tailwind and we reached E's fav chicken rice stall at about 2pm. Thankfully the sun was out by now and helped to dry up our jerseys abit.

We stopped for a quick 15min drink + loo break then off we went. B pulled us at 30km/h from Besar to Kechil, then E took over. Shortly after passing the Kechil bridge, E exclaimed that he'd gotten a puncture too! Apparently a nail had penetrated his tire and punctured the tube underneath. Luckily he'd brought along 2 spare tubes as well and CO2 canisters. A 15min change and off we went again. B continued to pull us for a while then E took over, going at a pace that made B and me work hard and upped my HR ALOT, despite having the help of strong tailwinds! Upslope, we were going at 26-7km/h and on flats, >32km/h! Cresting the last long upslope, we coasted downslope at 50km/h for me, then we reached the flat coastal roads.

By this time, B was feeling fatigued in the legs, having wacked on Fri morning's Joyriders ride and pulling E and me for 1.5days. My legs were also tired already and soon we were dropped while E kept up the pace. I pulled B at a measely 27km/h to reach E about 200m ahead, who had slowed down and was waiting for us once he saw we were lagging behind. We continued riding two, sometimes three abreast at about 23-24km/h until we reached the Desaru roundabout. Stopping by the roadside, we had a 15min stretch + banana break. Timecheck, we had plenty of time left to head back to Belungkor for the 7pm ferry.

Clearing the last 2 Desaru slopes was a huge relief and we cycled slowly to Bandar P., reaching at about 4.05pm. Unfortunately, our usual coffeeshop was closed, much to E's disappointment as he was looking forward to the yummy Malay style dishes he favoured. Luckily another coffeeshop just ahead was open for biz and we stopped for a longish 1h break. B ordered a chicken pao, E had fresh peeled oranges and I ate another Carman museli bar + milo kosong + soya bean pkt drink. Both ate a hardboiled egg each too. The coffeeshop's loo was rosak (spoilt) so I headed to the bus terminal's loo instead for a poo :-P

We left at 5.15pm and B led the way along the busy main road (this stretch is always my least fav part of Desaru rides). E, who'd stopped for a pee break, soon caught up with us and pulled us the remainder of the way until we reached the junction to turn right into the 16km road leading to Belungkor. I made the right turn, narrowly missing being hit by an oncoming truck (so B claims, but I thought the truck was still a fair dist away when I made the turn!).

Filled with a sense of accomplishment and happy to be nearing the end of our ride, our pace was brisk along the 16km stretch. B and I were ahead at first while E continued to ride conservatively to maintain a steady below 140bpm HR. At one stretch, B pulled me along a slight downward incline at about the 8-9km mark until we hit top speed of 50km/h then we slowed down, only to be overtaken by E!

E & B then speeded up, and ended with a last 2km time trial upslope, hitting a HR of 168bpm for E and 172bpm for B! I rode aerobically for the last stretch, spinning to cool down for the last 1km. B was waiting at the junction of the road turning into Belungkor and took my pic for the photo journal.

E had riden straight to the sea edge just to check out if the makan stall there was opened. He was still having thoughts of getting a nice cooked meal to make up for the one he'd missed at Bandar P.

Looking good after 315km

We reached Belungkor Ferry Terminal at 6.10pm (took about 54min from Bandar P. to Belungkor). Hip Hip Hooray, WE DID IT! Against odds of bad weather, B's still recovering gastroenteritis, E's sick condition and my lack of cycling training, we completed our mission for the weekend and in pretty decent time too :-D

B's fav Ramly burger stall was opened and he ordered 2 for himself and 1 for E. I muched on my dried figs haha... We got changed into dry clothes and happily packed away our wet cycling gear. My right ankle was aching badly (B suspected it was achilles tendonitis ; I suspected it was because of the long hrs of riding with a "locked ankle" due to the lack of free float offered by the Shimano ultegra pedal :-( ), not to mention my aching upper quads and sore groin!

Despite all this, we were in high spirits on the ferry home :-D

Total dist cycled: 157.5km x 2 = 315km
Av spd Day 1: 23km/h
Av spd Day 2: 24.5km/h
Total cal burnt (for me): 6000 (3000 on each day)
B burnt about 10,000 cal I think!

Body Composition and Weight Management

2008-03-06T11:07:00.002+08:00

Recently there has been alot of talk about how to improve on body composition, here are some approaches/concepts that will help you understand it better.

There are 3 approaches to improving to improving body composition

1. Energy Balance Concept

Any change in body weight is due to the equation ( Energy Intake > or <>
Positive Balance (No good/Put on Weight) Energy Intake > Energy Expanditure
Negative Balance (Only when intending to lose weight) Energy Intake <>

2. Fat Deficit Concept

Dietary fat is more easily stored then both carbohydrates or proteins
The balance between the Fat Intake and Fat Metabolism is critical if one is to lose fat
Therefore Fat Intake -Fat Metabolism = (Figure should be negative) if you are intending to lose fat

3. Low Carbs diet Concept

High Carbs diet promotes the use of carbs and impairs the rate of fat metabolism
Low Carbs diet are less satiating (does not depress appetite as much) and leaves you hungry after only a short while
High Carbs diet (espicially foods with high Glycemic Index i.e. GI) are more likely to spike insulin levels which then promotes fat storage.
The insulin spiked by the carbohydrates not only promotes fat storage by also inhibits the metabolism of fat as the body's fuel

So, what you think works for you?

Fitness

2008-03-06T10:57:00.002+08:00

Many of us participate in exercise for better fitness/health/wellness, but did you know that there are actually 2 major types of fitness and both of them will contributed to greater overall well being and decrease the rate of the onset of aging.

They are:

Health related fitness
Motor skill related fitness

Components under health related fitness include:

Cardiorespiratory endurance
Muscular Flexibility
Muscular Endurance
Muscular Strength
Body composition

Components under Motor Skill related fitness include:

Coordination
Speed
Power
Agility
Balance
Reaction time

Therefore it is suffice to say that if you are able to work on all these components, studies have shown that you will greatly decrease the rate of aging in your body.

Congratulations!!!

2008-02-28T14:19:00.005+08:00

Three friends undertook the ardous rite of passage in hot and hilly Langkawi on 23 Feb and emerged as newly minted Ironmen!

They did an awesome race, testiment to the months of training they had invested and sacrifices they had made over the past year.

Congratulations to Jie Xiang, Wesley & Marcus - You Are an IRONMAN! :-D

Jie Xiang's timing:
Swim: 1.20
T1: 9min
Bike: 6.04 (Av spd 29.7km/h)
T2: 13min
Run: 4.50
Total: 12.37

Wesley's timing
Swim: 1.23
T1: 6min
Bike: 6.23 (Av spd 28.2km/h)
T2: 9min
Run: 4.56
Total: 12.58

Marcus' timing
Swim: 1.34
T1: 8min
Bike: 6.37 (Av spd 27.2km/h)
T2: 8min
Run: 5.59
Total: 14.28

Adaptation of Aerobic Training

2008-02-27T23:45:00.003+08:00

Abstract: The highlighting of adaptative benefits of working out at aerobic zones

Definition - Aerobic zones 60-80% max Hr. (220-age)

When doing work out at 60-80% mHr. Zones, the benefits of your training include

Increased Stroke Volume - stroke volume is critical because it is a key component of cardiac out put [ Cardiac output (Q) = Hr x Stroke Volume (SV) ] there fore with higher SV, you are increasing the gross cardiac output
Improvement in O2 transport - this is due to adaptations such as, increased arterial and venous efficiency(arteries become more "stretchy"
Increase in blood volume
Increase in capillary density (more pipeing in your engine)
Improved metabolization of fat (due to adaptations such as increased enzyme concentration or increase amts of NAD and FAD which are iron protein carriers)
Metabolic adaptations ( enzymes, co enzymes concentration and quantity are increased, larger amt of ATP stored in muscles)

Periodization (The basics)

2008-02-27T23:38:00.007+08:00

Abstract: Debunking myths of the no pain no gain saying

In all training, there should be

Preparatory period
transition period
competition period
transition period

In essence, speed work should only be done during the competition period (which lasts a maximum time of 1month)

Preparatory period should include, training for strength (gym workout), Slowly increasing volume of training, retaining workout at very low intensity 60-70%max Hr.

Transition period is where you do aerobic treshold work, preferably at a level slightly lower then lactate inflection point (point where lactate in blood increases exponentially). At this stage, it is most recommended to work out at 70-80%max hr

-------------

Depending on the type of race, the greatest challenge is deciding how much time should be spend in the preparatory and transition phase. more often then not, Singaporeans train way past this limit resulting in injury, overtaining illness, psychological burnout.

Periodization (The basics)

2008-02-27T23:38:00.003+08:00

Periodization (The basics)

2008-02-27T23:38:00.001+08:00

I'm losing weight but not losing fat, or am i?

2008-02-21T23:15:00.002+08:00

Here is the scenario,

A male triathlete who has 25% body weight and weighs 80kg's wants to have a 10% body fat. What is the target body weight?

Answer is 66.7kg

do some calculations first, then look below

here is how its done,

Fat free body mass = 80kg x 0.75 = 60kg

target body weight = 60kg x 1.1 = 66kg

Therefore, if you have lost weight, but fat percentile remains the same, do not lose heart! you are doing fine. All you have to do is maintain your RM (resting metabolic rate)

-Bernard

Desaru-Sedili Ride, 12 Jan 08

2008-01-13T23:13:00.000+08:00

7 riders had a good adrenaline-pumping bike workout on Sat 12 Jan:
Bernard
Eric
Jie Xiang aka Jax
Marcus
David
Chris
Sharon

Weather was excellent, if abit scorching. Strong headwinds towards Sedili Kerchil made the journey there abit of a battle but soon-to-be IMers (J & M) and 2x IM B made short work of the ride, averaging 30km/h. Meanwhile, poor unfit me turtled along, with kind "escort" Eric reigning in his turbo-charged engine, accompanying me at a paltry 20km/h :P

The "Beach"

The off-seasoners (E, D, me) & feeling under the weather C took refuge at E's fav chicken rice stall in Sedeli Besar, while the super sonic trio (M, J, B) powered their way up the 4 degree highway and flattened the numerous hills beyond...

Journey back to Bandar Penawas was super! Aided by the strong tailwind, I hit a max of 54km down a long descending slope :) We had another long makan/ rest while the trio made their way back, averaging 40km/h phew!

The soon-to-be IMers

The final 16km stretch towards Belungkor had everyone (except C & me) in serious time trial mode, instigated by B and egged on by the rest. C & me didn't even have a chance to smell their dust before they vrrrroooommmmed off into the sunset...

Their efforts were roundly rewarded with an authentic Ramly burger at the ferry terminal :)

Total distance for the trio: 220km (i think)
Total distance for the off-seasoners aka slackers: 150km :D

Seletar Camp

2008-01-07T18:45:00.000+08:00

B in action at Punggol Island. See those slippers?

Pulau Punggol Barat and Timur

2008-01-07T14:52:00.000+08:00

B and me sneak into the Punggol Islands. I once went with J, but we only managed Pulau Punggol Barat. This time we went to the Timur one. In Malay, pulau means island. Barat means West, and Timur means East.

No swimming is required. The islands are connected by a new narrow bridge.

The whole island (Punggol Timur) is covered by a huge stockpile of granite. It is meant for building HDB houses.

Team Tri-Umph! Riders Inauguration cum New Year Party

2007-12-31T15:42:00.000+08:00

Hi Friends!

The time has come for Team Tri-Umph! Riders Inauguration!

*If you have no idea what is Tri-Umph! riders, its the Desaru + Mersing + Kota Bahru + Camerons cycling gang!

We'll be having a PotLuck Dinner , Photo Viewing , "health screening" , Partyyyy at:

Bernard's place: 12, Siang Kuang Avenue
Date: Fri 4th Jan 2008
Time: 7pm

Wives, Family and Kids are all invited!

You can bring any sort of food: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western, Christmasy etc
Just List it down!

1. Bernard - Tuna Salad with assortment of Nuts
2. Sharon - Honey Glazed Roast Chicken
3. Yong Seng - Sushi
4. Jax (Jie Xiang) - Otah
5. Weileng - Satay
6. Eric - Chicken Curry
7. Yuen - Fishballs
8. Winston - Ben & Jerry's ice-cream
9. Andrew - red wine
10. David & Jo-anna - spoons + coke
11. Caroline - Boston Pizza

S gets her new passport!

2007-12-28T14:28:00.000+08:00

Yes, a brand new 100% Singapore passport. Let's hope the person who is using her old passport for illicit drug smuggling die a painful death.

First ride on MTB, and B nearly got bumped off!

2007-12-27T23:28:00.000+08:00

Scene 1: Punggol

The speeding car went "whoosh", followed by "bump". Then there was a "screech".

B got hit by a car. He steadied his new MTB, and his shaking legs, and continued riding.

Nope, he didn't fall off, didn't crash.

Nope, there was no cursing, or swearing.

Instead we had a discussion about rats in a coffeeshop in Hougang later.

The story is that if we keep adding more and more rats to a confined space, they will start to kill and cannibalize each other. Singapore is a place with a lot of unhappiness.

Later we talk about the stock market as an investment vehicle. I can help people retire very rich, but very slowly. And yes, the path is fraught with ups and downs, but we'll get there eventually. Up to now, I have yet to figure out how to get rich fast. Drop me a note if you know how.

MTB ride to Karimun Island, Sat 29 Dec

2007-12-27T12:51:00.000+08:00

Bernard & Eric are organising a 1D trip to Karimun Island, Indonesia

Date: Saturday 29 Dec
Meeting venue: Harbourfront Ferry Terminal
Meeting Time: 7am sharp (1st ferry departs at 8am)
Cost of 2-way ferry ticket: S$50 (estimated)

Route:
Tg Balai --> Teluk Uma --> Gunung Jantan--> Center of island --> Pasir Panjang --> center --> Pantai Palawan --> Meral -->Tanjung Balai

Distance: 89km

Target time to return to Tg Balai ferry terminal: 5pm (Last ferry departs Karimun Island at 6pm)

Besides cycling, there's plenty of time for seafood makan , maybe a dip in the sea , and some walking around

If you are interested to go, please contact Bernard or Eric

Life Sucks

2007-12-18T12:14:00.000+08:00

My friends are gone. They'll be eating char koay teow while I am poring through balance sheets. They'll be cycling while I am surfing the web. They will enjoy the smell of the rainforest while I am sucking air from SBS buses. They will have a good night's sleep after miles of pedaling, while I will toss and turn in bed.

This morning, I wanted to send them off at 6am. But I was dead tired, and too ashamed. I hope they come back happy, and I be happy too.

Looks like the trip is on again!

2007-12-17T01:04:00.000+08:00

This time around we are heading to Ipoh, Penang, Camerons!

Stand by for pictures when we return!

6-in-1 Super Value Deal

2007-12-15T15:26:00.000+08:00

Bad weather in Desaru, so stuck in Spore and pining for some hill training? Fret not, there's a route I just tried today that will rev up your HR, leave you gasping for breath and reward you with sexy, well-toned thighs (yah, i wish! haha).

Having heard about the "Kampongkaki Circuit" several times from Linden, I decided to give it a go today, as a form of BSKL training for the coming Camerons Trip :p

We met at West Coast Macs, 8.30am and did our warm up along the windy stretch of South Buona Vista. That already had me panting and cast a foreboding shadow over what was to come...

Our next destination was Pepy's Hill, leading to Bukit Chandu. Wah, siong man (this was to be my most uttered word for the entire ride :p). I tried to take it easy, switched to lightest gear and spin up. Dex, doing a long slow ride in prep for IMNZ 08, overtook me with ease while Linden, resplendent in his Team CSC outfit and riding his gleaming soloist carbon pulled further and further away... this scenario repeated itself ad nauseam for all the climbs and err... flats thereafter!

Next was abit of a respite as we did one loop around Old Gillman Heights Camp along Ayer Rajah Road. This one was thankfully less steep.

Labrador Park was next and fwah, the panting resumes in full force. Descending needs some care with hands on brakes cos of pedestrains sharing the same narrow road.

I was hungry by then (started riding from home at 6.30am) and we stopped at the SPC petrol kiosk for a drink refuel and pee break for me, while the 2 guys talked shop and compared bike components (Dex's bling gold chain hmmm...)

With a tummy sloshing with soya bean drink, I followed the guys up Telok Blangah Hill Park, where we spotted Safra running club's fastest female runner doing secret training. Walau, I was grinding up so slowly that my cycling speed and her running pace was the same :p Dex again took home the polka dotted jersey :D

The next two were the biggies. First was up Mt Faber by Morse Road (less steep side), which was manageable cos I took it real real slow to prevent HR from shooting through the roof. Descending is always tricky cos of the windy path and tourist buses hogging the narrow route.

We saved the best for the last. This was the grand finale, the prized dish on the hill training menu. Up Mt Faber by Kampong Bahru Road. Advice is pace yourself, do not cheong... you will know why once you hit the first steep slope up. I'd done this once before early this year and believe me, the second time round does not make it any easier. In between my hard gasps for breath, I was thinking, ok, is this what it feels like to have a heart attack? It was a huge sigh of relief to reach the summit at last but the descent was horrid, as I trailed behind a taxi who was in-turn blocked by a tourist bus moving at slug's pace.

At the foot of Mt Faber, by unanimous agreement, we abdandoned our inital plan to do 2 loops of the circuit and headed straight back to West Coast Macs as our tummies were pleading for nourishment :)

I ordered a grilled chicken wrap (without the mayo) + medium milo ping. This is one of the few instances where I actually eat real food after a ride haha! Hmm... hill training does seem to whip up an appetite :) Either that or I've crossed over to the Dark side, under the influence of my training-and-buffet-loving buddies hehe...

Highlight of the brunch stop was seeing this HUGE St Bernard going for walkies with his owner in West Coast Park, attracting curious looks and adoring pets from complete strangers. The doggy's head alone was bigger than mine and I reckon he probably weighs about the same, if not more than me!

After the makan, I did a leisurely ride back to ECP. Total mileage for me: 95km
Excellent workout and route, I'm game for 2 loops next time!

Ratings for the hills:
Pepy's Hill - !!
Old Gillman Heights Camp - !
Labrador Park - !!!
Telok Blangah Hill Park - !!!
Mt Faber by Morse Rd - !!!
Mt Faber by Kampong Bahru Rd - !!!!

P/S to avoid the heavy traffic along Keppel, it is recommanded to start this ride no later than about 6am. Takes about 1.50 (slow pace) to complete 1 loop (30km)

Brainwave !

2007-12-12T10:16:00.000+08:00

Next year, we got to do this:

1) Day 1 - Ride to Mersing (overnight at Timotel)
2) Day 2 - Run to Rompin (60km+)

Everybody is familiar with Day 1.

For Day 2, the format is like what I suggested earlier:

Run for 5km. Stop. Eat and drink and stretch at the support vehicle (Colin's van). Wait for the rest (if you are not the last). When all regroup, run another 5km stretch. Repeat till reach Rompin. Overnight at Rompin.

3) Day 3 - 4K Sea swim at Rompin Beach. (OK - this is really optional).

I am sure you guys would think this is Brilliant.....

LCK runway race

2007-12-10T12:36:00.001+08:00

Heard that there was a winner in the LCK runway race.
Have you heard of anyone winning the rat race?

Wed 12 Dec, Joyriders 5am Ride

2007-12-08T23:00:00.000+08:00

Anyone wanna join me for Joyriders Wed 5am ride? Hope to have company incase I get tempted by the Zzzzz-monster and decide to erm... just sleep in haha...

Long Aerobic Ride, Sat 8 Dec

2007-12-07T17:59:00.000+08:00

A couple of us are doing a long aerobic (ie slow pace lah) ride tomorrow, meeting at Longhouse, 5.30am. Aim is to build endurance for the Cameron trip. Join us if you can!

Camerons

2007-12-07T10:52:00.000+08:00

The Cameron trip looks hard. I am not sure of my status. Is it off-season? Or retired? My plan is to ride the trainer everyday for next week - even if its for 2o minutes. And then, I am not sure whether I can even sneak in this trip. All my leave is consumed, and even some of next years!

Camerons Trip Update

2007-12-06T16:32:00.000+08:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm glad to inform you that all the necessary arrangements have been made.
As of now, we have 8 Riders, Here is an Introduction to all of them,
Tommy Yuen - Strong Cyclist, Ironman and Vateran Triathlete (Yellow Jersey)
Yong Jie Xiang (aka JAX) - Strong Runner with no fats, Going for Langkawi 08 (White, and PokaDot Jersey)
Eric Kong - 2x Ironman, time trail expert
Andrew Leong - Ironman, Seasoned Triathlete
Yong Seng - Ironman, Avid Triathlete (Does all the races)
Sharon Teng - Dunno why she hasnt gone for ironman yet, but anyway Vateran Triathlete and With Unlimited Pain Threshold
Caroline Tan - Cheerleader (esp Screeming) haha.. Ironman
Bernard Tay - Leisure Triathlete (currently enjoying off season)

Next, $$$$$$ Okie, so just in case you are wondering how much $$$$$$$$ or RMMMMMM to exchange

For all those who are familiar, our usual practice is we will pool money at the begining of the trip, this money will be for ALL meals (lunch dinner etc..) and Drinks( 100+, mineral water, etc).

The drinks are for putting into the ice box so we can have easy access during the ride Hence, each of us will have to contribute RM250 per person for all the meals, food and drinks for 5 Days The amount is based on a estimation so,
1. It is RM50 a day for ALL meals and drinks so its not too bad i guess?
2. Kindly contribute in RM
3. if need be we might need to top up
4. is not included in $400- Thats for Support Veh and Lodging Therefore, you need to change >RM 250 for the Trip Next, Money changers may be few and far between, only entering JB town are we assured of getting a money changer, so Change your RM early and IN singapore

Remember to BRING YOUR CAMERAS along!!

Cheers,Bernard

2nd Team Triumph Riders Long Distance Ride

2007-12-06T16:23:00.000+08:00

We will be doing a Cameron Highlands trip in December, here are the details Date:

18th to 22nd December 2007 (Tuesday to Saturday)

Cost: SGD$400/pax (Twin/ Quad Sharing) (Kindly Highlight to me If you want Single Rooms)

Includes Support vehical and Hotel fees

Itenary:

Day 1: Meet at my place and Ride to Mersing (same as always)(TG. Leman is optional) (You know the terrain...) [140km w/o Tg. Leman]Hotel- Timotel

Day 2: Mersing to Kuantan (Rompin for lunch stop and proceed to Kuantan via Coastal road) (Undulating to rompin, Rompin onwards Flat) [190km]Hotel- Grand Continental Kuantan

Day 3: Rest day (travel to foot of Cameron)*

Day 4: Cameron via Gua Musang (Terrain: Mountains) [150km]Hotel- Century Pines Day 5: Go home

*Tentative- Either stay at kuantan or move to cameron early, depending on time estimation